HandsOn Volunteer Network of the Valley, a United Way Agency, is the local resource for volunteer

HandsOn Volunteer Network of the Valley, a United Way Agency, is the local resource for volunteer recruitment, placement, and management for people of all ages and abilities in the Mahoning Valley. It is located on the second floor of the Williamson School of Business in the Center for Non-profit Excellence at Youngstown State University, and its main office is at 5500 Market St., Suite 110, Boardman. Hands On is a monthly column that serves to communicate the impact that volunteering can have on the community. To express interest in one of the opportunities below, contact HOVN at 330-782-5877 or Trumbull County 330-393-4254 or visit the new website at www.HOVN.org!

OPPORTUNITIES

YOUNGSTOWN JAZZ FESTIVAL: If you can volunteer before, during and after the event Aug. 11, please call 330-782-5877 or email info@HOVN.org. The featured Acts will be multiple Grammy Award winning Najee and Alex Bugnon. Performances will be by Hubb’s Groove & Michael Austin, Howard and The Point 5 Band and The Karla Seldon Review.

YSU SUMMER FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS: Assist artists, performers, vendors and the public during four hour shifts on YSU campus. Register vendors, artists, and performers, help with artist setup, booth sit, or pack-up, public art installation or de-installation, Festival of Nations setup or tear-down, help at performance sites, Children’s Art Fest, or information booth. Volunteers get brief orientation, a free T-shirt and cold water. Minimum age 14. Required: A nice disposition despite the weather and a willingness to assist the public with a smile!

MAHONING COUNTY SENIOR FAIR: Aug. 11, shifts from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Volunteers are needed to help with information/admission gates, food/beverage distribution, Bingo tent, parking/traffic control, entertainment/prize distribution, assist in vendor display or general grounds. Help the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office Senior Services Unit provide seniors with the opportunity to enjoy themselves as they learn about the many community resources available to them.

CORPORATE VOLUNTEER COUNCIL: Corporate volunteering and engagement is on the rise. If you are part of a progressive company looking for an opportunity to give back, contact Gretchen Brown at 330-782-5877 or email gbrown@HOVN.org for more information.

GROW YOUNGSTOWN: Volunteers of all ages needed at the Fairgreen Neighborhood Garden to help with bees (apiary), worms (vermiculture), catchment (water-collection tanks), compost, hops, fruit trees, garden plots and more. Fun, interesting and educational. Families welcome. Volunteer pick-up managers needed for summer CSA Season for the Fairgreen Neighborhood Garden and the YMCA Davis Branch locations. Although Grow Youngstown cannot provide mileage reimbursement or money in return for time, they will provide a free family-size share in exchange for the pick-up managers’ commitment and are looking for at least two individuals who are responsible and dependable and have the time, energy and ability to pick up produce in chest-sized coolers from a central location, and take the produce to one of two pickup locations; set up and maintain pickup station/exhibit in accordance with a standardized design; manage the payments for members who use Ohio Direction Cards (training provided); record who came for their family, single, and/or value- added shares; tear down and store the exhibit at the end of the pick-up; Call in the EBT voucher confirmation numbers to GY Program Coordinator the same evening; take received moneys and vouchers to the Grow Youngstown office within 24 hours after the day after the pickup.

SWEATS FOR SERENITY: Imagine, after surviving being raped, enduring the police interview, and an intrusive forensic exam you are told your clothing is being kept as forensic evidence and must be sent to the laboratory for analysis. This is what many survivors of rape experience. Compass Family and Community Services wants to make sure survivors assisted by their rape program have a new set of sweats to leave the hospital. Can you help? New sweat suits of every size range are needed. This is a great opportunity for companies, church groups, service clubs and individuals who want to make a difference in the lives of people who have been traumatized. Call HOVN at 330-782-5877 for more details on how to construct a project in support of Sweats for Serenity.

FOREVER FARMS IN SALEM: Animal care, food prep for animals, cleaning of animal habitats, scrubbing feed and water buckets and manure removal; public-education department, assisting on group tours, helping to design and implement classes, workshops and summer camps for kids; fundraising, grant writing, letter writing, helping with special events; construction/repairs, construction and repairs of animal shelters/housing, installation and repair of fence and fence posts, painting of buildings, repair and maintenance of farm and miscellaneous equipment; gardening/landscaping, weeding, mulching, and planting of flower beds, planting, maintaining and harvesting a garden; office help, filing of paperwork, writing letters, record keeping, mailing.

YWCA OF YOUNGSTOWN GREETER: Volunteers are needed to welcome and register visitors and direct them to their required destination within the YWCA building. You will ensure friendly service to the visitors and assist with the location of various areas as requested by visitors. You must be comfortable interacting with people and making general inquiries as to the purpose of their visit to the YWCA.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE CO-OP FOR NONPROFITS: Continuity of operations planning and volunteer reception center training, Aug. 13, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Girard MultiGenerational Center. To register, contact HOVN. Volunteers can choose how and when they serve, but must participate in the training to become a Volunteer Reception Center volunteer. Medical Reserve Corps volunteers are encouraged to attend this training.

VALU VOLUNTEER AT MAHONING COUNTY COURTHOUSE: Volunteers assist walk-in clients through the process of applying for a civil-protection order. Time commitment is two days a month between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Qualifications/requirements: Background check will be required. Good listening and communications skills, sensitivity and awareness of domestic violence and legible handwriting. Eight hours of training required.

MAKE A DIFFERNCE DAY OHIO, OCT. 27: Mark your calendars for Oct. 27 for Make a Difference Day. HOVN will be partnering numerous projects in the Mahoning Valley and is seeking help. One of the first projects developed is with the Warren City firefighters and United Way of Trumbull County to install approximately 2,000 smoke detectors in Warren city residents’ homes. Volunteers will be needed Oct. 27 to help install the smoke detectors. Orientation and installation training will be given prior to MDD. Contact the HOVN office to register for this event. If you are an organization and would like help designing a project, please contact the HOVN office.

POTTERS’S WHEEL OF BEATITUDE HOUSE: Adult education tutor for computer instruct/tutor adult women in basic and advanced computer knowledge. Flexible shifts available Monday through Thursday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Potter’s Wheel in Youngstown. With increased job skills, you can help transition disadvantaged women and their families into a healthy, self-supporting role in the local community. Child-care assistant/babysitter will assist the staff while mothers attend group meetings on Thursdays from 5:45 to 7 p.m. at Beatitude House. Volunteers must appreciate children and their behaviors and display a willingness to engage children in fun activities. Children are divided into 3 or 4 age groups.

GUARDIAN ANGELS OF OHIO: Guardian is a court-appointed individual who makes decisions on another’s behalf once they have been deemed by the probate court to be incompetent to handle their own affairs. The responsibilities of a guardian may include decisions regarding medical care, living arrangements and, in some cases, financial matters. Help Guardian is a volunteer who assists the Guardian to meet the needs and desires of the ward, be it errands, respite or simply visits on a regular basis. Friendly Visitor of the Court visits various older adults either in their homes or in a facility. This volunteer would listen to and talk with the ward to assess their care and treatment in their current living arrangement and report their findings to the Program Director.

JUBILEE GARDENS: Do you have some time to help others grow vegetables or assist with keeping the gardens free of weeds and watered? Please contact HOVN if you have a green thumb.

HUBBARD LIBRARY: Hubbard Friends of the Public Library, 436 W. Liberty St., needs children’s media to redistribute within the community. Donations of clean, used books, DVDs, videotapes, cassette tapes, CDs, puzzles and games will be accepted at the circulation desk at the library. Dated material such as encyclopedia sets and magazines will not be accepted.